Transcript

00:00:00

>> They even want to try to rig the election at the polling booths. And believe me, there's a lot going on->> Donald Trump supporters who want to patrol voting sites on election day may get a surprise. Thousands of civil rights monitors keeping an eye on them. I'm Andy Sullivan in Washington, where civil rights groups are planning a massive effort to prevent problems on election day.

00:00:20

Thousands of volunteers on the ground in 27 states plus teams of lawyers at the ready to file lawsuits if necessary. They're on the lookout for the usual problems. Long lines, broken machines, poll workers turning away people who are qualified to vote. But this year they have a new concern as well, overzealous Trump supporters who may be targeting black, hispanic or Muslim voters.

00:00:42

>> And this is a rigged election folks.>> Since August and increasingly in recent days, Trump has been saying the election will be rigged by widespread voter fraud without any evidence. He's urging supporters to stand outside polling places in Democratic neighborhoods to look for any suspicious activity. Critics say this is racial profiling and could easily tip over into voter intimidation.

00:01:02

In response, civil rights groups are expanding this year beyond the usual trouble spots in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. They'll be on the ground in Muslim neighborhoods in New York City, black areas of Milwaukee and Philadelphia. And racially diverse areas of Huston to make sure voters aren't being harassed.

00:01:18

Several people I spoke to said they'll also be keeping an eye on rural areas outside the big cities. Where they think it's more likely that Trump's supporters could show up with guns. The risk of voter intimidation as a new wrinkle to it already could be a problematic collection.

00:01:31

This is the first presidential race since the supreme court weakened the federal voting rights law. And many Republican-led states have passed new restrictions on voting. Some of those restrictions have since been struck down in court, but experts I talk to say there still could be plenty of confusion at the polls.

00:01:46

Do voters have to show a photo ID or not? Can they vote outside their normal polling place? Has the polling place been switched at the last minute? Activists tell me they're already talking to election officials establishing the lines of communication that will be crucial on election day. In past years, they've been able to fix problems without having to call the police.

00:02:05

They're hoping that will be the case this year as well, but they wanna be ready for anything.